Tire Size

[kgornek]

Ok guys, I am going to buy some Dueler's tomorrow and was wondering if you guys had a suggestion on the size.

 

I'm riding on the stock Firestone's 265/70/R16's as of now, but I don't like the huge space between the tire and wheel well. I even thought about lowering the truck in the rear 3" to get rid of that. (To level it off) But anyway, I thought maybe the tires could help compensate for that a little... I still might lower it, but don't have the funds as of right now.

 

So what do you think? Maybe 275/70/R16? I know it will throw off the speedometer a bit, but I don't think it will be too bad. I figure just a few m.p.h's less then actual.

 

Anyway, ket me know what you all think. This is my source for all big decisions based on the Tahoe!!

 

God Bless Our Troops!

[99silveradoz71]

I've got 265/75/16's on my Rado...I got the LT rated tires vs. the passengers like the stock F-stones were. Great tire, just had them rotated yesterday.

[kgornek]

99silveradoz71 - What load rating did you decide to go with? SL, C,D, or E? Are they quiet on the highway with good traction in snow and rain?

[kgornek]

Uh oh.... They are out of stock on the 265/75/R16's so I was thinking about going with the 275/70/R16... Does anyone know if these will fit ok with no rubbing? (Stock rims) Please respond ASAP if you can... I am trying to put in the order today. Thanks!

 

[t-bone]

Don't worry about your speedo, it is probably about 5% high from the factory like my 2001 Yukon XL. I did some calculations on my RPM/MPH spreadsheet (I am a CPA) and 265/75R16 would actually make my speedo accurate. I put 285/76R16 in place of 265/75 on my 97 GMC truck and they look bad@$$ as well as correcting my speedo. I guess GM is trying to save us from some speeding tickets and making our odometers read high so we trade in sooner . By the way the diameters on the possible sizes are: 265/70 = 30.6in., 265/75 = 31.8, 285/75 = 32.8. I was just a local tire shop last night and they said 265/75 would be great but 285/75 would really be pushing it. 285/75 also wear poorly on only a 7in wide rim, you really have watch the air pressure closely. The tire shop was really pushing the new REVO from Bridgestone but after I told the salesman I wasn't paying $180/tire he pointed me to the Firestone Destination ($112) and he really liked the Dayton Timberline ($92) for a highway A/T tire. I live in Wisconsin and those "city boy" SUV tires stink in the snow. Also, if you want a decent ride don't get "D" rated tires. They killed what little ride quality I had with my truck . Good luck with your purchase.

[chevy2000]

WEll, I hope that it isn't too late to put in some info on this subject, but personally, I would go with the 285 size tire on your truck. I have a 2000 Z71, and I was in the same situation that you are in, I had the junk passanger rated Firestones on my truck, and they literally went bad!!! So I did a little research on tires, and decided to go with the LT Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo's. I have had them on my truck now for several months, and I love them. They are a great tire and are worth the money. See if they have the 285's in stock, I will improve the look of your truck! There were two things that I had to do to my truck with the new tire size, 1. I cranked to torsion bars a little bit to raise the front end of the truck up (very easy to do), and 2. I had to do just a little bit of trimming on my AFTERMARKET Husky mud flaps in the front.

If you do crank your t-bars, do get an alignment with the new tires!!!

Hope this helps out, keep us updated on the tire status.

[chevy2000]

Also, on the part about the Speedo being off, I am off by just over 2 MPH, there are several calculators on the net that will tell you what the speedo will read with new tires!!

[Chris97K1500]

180$ a tire! OUCH, that's robbery! I got mine, for 125$ a piece out the door with lifetime rotation, road hazard, etc. If it were my truck, I'd go with the 285's. If you inflate them properly, they will wear evenly and should last 50K+ miles. I've got the 285's on my 4Runner, it is a 7.5" wide rim, haven't had any wear issues. You'll love the traction you get with these tires. Very comfortable ride! Chris

[kgornek]

Hey guys... thanks for all the good info!! I'm making the purchase from tirerack.com so I have to see if the 285 is available.

 

But I came up with another idea as well... What about running a set of 17" Escalade wheels with a 265/70/17? I'm talking to a guy from EBay right now on getting a set. All the ones he has posted come with tires and I'd like to just get the wheels so I can make my own choice in tires.

 

Do you guys think these rims will look good on the 'hoe and are they the same bolt pattern?

[kgornek]

Any thoughts?

[99silveradoz71]

I believe mine are load rating D. I'd go 285 for yours too. Hindsight being 20/20, I'd probably go with them if I had it to do over.

[RossT]

I just put the 265/75/16 revos on my 2003 1500HD that came stock with 245/75/16's firestone steeltech atx. The firestone store gave me $65 per tire trade in on the atx's. The first thing that I noticed is that the revos are very sticky to the pavement, but they are not loud either. The Revos also look like they are taller than a standard 265 tire. They filled in my wheel area alot more than I thought they would. I almost think that they are to aggresive looking, but I am sure that once winter hits, I will be more than happy!

 

I paid $122 per tire minus $65 trade in. I got the lifetime balance and rotate and road hazard. Final price with tax was $330 for the upgrade

[Firetiger(MN)]

I just put the 265/75/16 revos on my 2003 1500HD that came stock with 245/75/16's firestone steeltech atx. The firestone store gave me $65 per tire trade in on the atx's. The first thing that I noticed is that the revos are very sticky to the pavement, but they are not loud either. The Revos also look like they are taller than a standard 265 tire. They filled in my wheel area alot more than I thought they would. I almost think that they are to aggresive looking, but I am sure that once winter hits, I will be more than happy!

 

I paid $122 per tire minus $65 trade in. I got the lifetime balance and rotate and road hazard. Final price with tax was $330 for the upgrade

How many miles were on your 245's when you traded them for the 265's? I'm looking at the Revo's also, but as for now they are out of stock. There is a Firestone dealer in my area and was thinking of doing the same thing but not sure how much they'd give me for the old ones. I'm surprised you got them for $122/ea. Are they 'P' tires or 'LT'? C load rated or D?

[RossT]

My firestone steeltechs atx's had only 400 miles on them.

 

Try looking at a fierstone brand tire store for your Bidgestone Dueler at revos. Firestone and Bridgestone have some kind of marketing thing together. My local store had just got 50 of the revos in 265/75/16's They had load range c,d and e in stock. I went with the "C", cause I never tow really heavy, and I was looking for the best ride. The "E" was slightly higher in price. Overall, I am happy with the upgrade. As I said the revos are or just look taller than a standard 265 tire, and they really filled in the wheel area nicely.

 

I live in ND. Darn near every town has a firestone brand tire store.

 

edit: they are the LT series tires

[Firetiger(MN)]

Yeah, I went to a Firestone store in St. Cloud and they only had 'C' load rated tires in that size and I opted to wait. No E's or D's. Tires Plus didn't have them either. Nationwide backorder I guess. That was a month ago. Haven't checked since.

 

Kind of waiting on the new tires in case I go with a performance module for my Duramax. Don't feel like burning down the new tires.